


Not What You Expected

by mostlikelytopunatu



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Blood, Explicit Language, F/M, Knifeplay, Multi, Negan Being Negan (Walking Dead), Sanctuary, Threats of Violence, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-05 18:04:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlikelytopunatu/pseuds/mostlikelytopunatu
Summary: After being forced to defend yourself against a group of strangers whilst on a supply run, you realise you’d have been better off giving them what they wanted when the cavalry comes for their fallen, and for you.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Long time writer, first time writing TWD. Might take me a bit to properly get into the spoken voice of Negan and a few canon characters, so please bear with me! I have no idea where this is going, only that absolutely anything is possible! I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to let me know what you think, I’d love to hear your thoughts/suggestions/critiques :)
> 
> Just to clarify: the character (reader) is female, the Saviors have mistook her for a young man in appearance when they first encountered her and now that she’s all fucked up they can’t tell face to face either way, or can they?  
> Quite a long one here! Enjoy :) <3

The whistle was low at first, a mere echo on the wind. You stopped instantly, leaning against a tree to steady yourself as you clutched your injured side. You focused your breathing to calm the hammering heartbeat in your chest so you could listen. The echo grew clearer, the origin of the whistling nearing in proximity.

You looked up and saw them moving through the foliage. You counted five, seven, nine- you turned your head, glancing to the other side as you heard the undergrowth snap under the weight of boots, there was more than a dozen of them. You were fucked. Even if you wanted to run you couldn’t, your legs were doing all they could just to keep you standing upright. The wound in your side had stained through your navy hoodie a deep crimson, the blood had long since dried with the kicked up dirt, now flaking off in the unbearable heat of the early evening sun.

You leaned your head against the tree, your back against the coarse bark as you licked your lips in vain, your mouth was as dry as a sun baked shit. The Virginia heat prickled your skin, beads of sweat rolling down through the cracks of dried earth, blood and mess that had matted into your short cropped hair and covered your face.

“Hell’s bells! Look what we found, boys.” 

You turned your head to see an exceedingly tall mustached man, his receding hairline only drawing more attention to his dark piercing eyes that were fixated on you. It was the same group from before. They’d found you. It was over.

Tash Face stopped a foot or so away from you, the circle of men surrounding you just a few more paces back. You wanted to sink to the floor, the weight of your bones heavy under the exhaustion but you weren’t sure you’d be able to stand up again. There was no more running now. You had no weapon. _Except their ignorance. For now._

“Boss man is gonna be damn well pleased as shit to see you, you know that? Oh yeah you dumb shit, he’s on his way.”

You grit your teeth at his words, your gaze lowered from his face, looking instead at the blade at his hip. _Don’t be a fool. You know you can’t._

“Whassa matter? You finally lost your nerve? Hell I would. I’d be pissing myself if I were you right about now.” He closed the distance between the two of you, his broad shoulders standing so much taller above you. 

“You don’t kill our people like that and walk away clean. That shit doesn’t roll with the Saviors, or the Big Man. Not one damn bit.” He grips your throat as he spat the last word, forcing your head back against the bark of the tree. His hold tightens around your neck, squeezing the life from you slowly, deliberately. It takes all your willpower not to shout at the pain that floods from your neck up to your head, wrapping around your forehead and taking your sight momentarily.

_Hold on. Don’t break now._

“Look at me you-” 

A low whistle sounded from behind Tash Face, your eyes were still shut with the pain when you dared to open them as the grip around your throat diminished. You stared up to see the man who’d gripped you so harshly just moments before step back and bow his head slightly away from you.

“Boss.”

Every breath felt like a cold stab in your chest as you fell down against the trunk of the tree, your head lowered once more, keeping your eyes on the black boots that swaggered towards you.

“I fucking hope you remember I said I wanted the little shit alive? You did hear me say that, _didn’t you_ Simon?” The boots stopped just before you, you didn’t look up but you could feel the presence of the dominant man standing over you. He was their leader.

“That I did, Boss. Just roughing him up a bit for you, is all.”

_Him._

Simon had backtracked over his previous actions in a matter of seconds and you knew it was a lie. He’d wanted to hurt you in that moment. Hell, probably still did but he wasn’t about to now. _You still have a chance._

The other man laughed, a low echoing sound that reverberated off the trees in the woods they all stood in. “Ain’t you a goddamn peach, setting the scene for me. Now-”

He cleared his throat, it was eerily silent as you waited for the leader to address you. You felt the air move as something swung hard near to your face, you caught a glimpse of a baseball bat with...barbed fucking wire?

The cool tip of the bat touched your forehead as the man wielding it pushed your head back, your eyes meeting with his as he ran his tongue against his shining white teeth. A smug smile plastered his face, a predatory look glazed his features as he stared down at you like a lion with its prey.

“Well... _shiiiit_. I have seen some shit...but you look like that shit took a shit and saw some goddamn fucking _more_ shit…” he laughed again, his eyes were a dark hazel like Simon’s but they shone brightly with his amusement at himself.

“I mean fuck, if this is what 5 days injured on the run looks like... _shit_.” He leant back as he studied the state of you. You were royally fucked up, you couldn’t deny it. A blind person couldn’t fucking deny it. You’d done well to avoid his group until now, but the wound you’d suffered in the fight with the men- _his_ men, back at the pharmacy a few days earlier was enough to drain you of stamina and slow you down.

“Fuck, I gotta give you some credit I suppose, you take out 4 of my guys by yourself with nothing but a blade and then disappear like a fucking ghost. Well, until now.”

The grin spread further across his face. You wondered how much wider it could possibly go. You feel your heartbeat quickening its pace, you force yourself to breathe through your nose as slowly as you can to steady it. _Fight or flight. Which is it gonna be?_

“But shit, real talk for a second?” Negan lowered the bat from your forehead and kneeled down to your level. The twinkling excitement in his hazel eyes had ceased to exist when he locked eyes with you again. There was something colder, darker and infinitely more dangerous that stared back at you.

“I’ve got a place, kind of my own little empire right? Built it up myself, made our resources stretch more than being just enough to survive. Hell, we’re passed surviving. We got families. We got jobs. We’re shitting living the dream.”

You gripped your side tightly, waiting for whatever his point was, waiting for him to swing that damn bat over your head if that was his plan. Instead he leaned in closer to you, his breath hot against your fucked up face as you saw the anger visibly burning beneath his olive skin, his voice quiet but no less commanding as he spoke.

“Except those sorry mother fuckers you killed. They’re dead now aren’t they? Rotting away in this stinking shitting heat. Nothin’ but chow for the fucking biters.”

_They struck first. I never wanted to kill them._

You knew nothing you could say no matter how truthful would quell the man’s anger and it wasn’t the time to run your mouth. You could see it in his eyes. He wanted blood.

He raised the bat to the side of your head, pressing it hard against your face as you felt the barbed wire sink into your skin. You grit your teeth, eyes scrunched shut with the stinging pain as the blood rolled down your cheek. You glared at him through the torment, that cheshire cat grin across his face as he pushed the bat further against your skin, twisting it upwards.

You balled your free hand up into a fist, your nails digging into the palm, piercing the skin. _Don’t react. Don’t do it. Just hold on- don’t-_

“Fucking fuck...You’re one stubborn little shit ain’t cha?” Negan let up the pressure on the bat and you breathed out heavily, your dehydration evident in your rasps of breath. "What's your name?"

The man leant back from you, resting the freshly bloodied bat against his shoulder. You felt streams of warmth falling from your temple as you stared up at him. 

"Quinn."

“Well shit me you do talk! Howdy you little fuck, I’m Negan.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Much to Simon's displeasure he's been ordered to return our gal to the Sanctuary while Negan finishes up a few things.

The vehicle pulled to a stop jolting you awake, the dim light that shone through the black bag over your head betraying the shapes moving past you in the back of the van. You squinted hard, your body was stiff against the floor of the van where you lay. Had you fallen asleep? You remember the woods, Negan and Simon, you remember being put in the van. How long had you been out? Where had they taken you? 

You hear the doors open and feel hands on your shoulders pulling you out. Your feet hit the gravel and for a moment you sway, uneasy with your balance until the bag is yanked from your head by Simon.

“Home sweet home.”

You blink back the late sun as it dips down behind the building before you as your eyes adjust to the light. It was enormous, stretching up into the sky with a metal staircase climbing up the side of it. The concrete exterior was grey and cold looking but dotted with more windows than you could count that reflected the dying light. You guessed it was a factory before, you wondered how many dwelled within it now.

“Welcome to the Sanctuary you lucky son of a bitch!” 

Simon pushed you forward past the metal fencing that rattled and groaned with the dead. There were dozens of them all chained down or held in place with spikes.

“You like our little garden? If you prove useless like I know you will I’ll find a perfect little spot for you in it, how’s that sound?” Simon’s words rang with an unholy amount of enthusiasm as he grinned. He really didn’t like you.

You made it up the steps to the main entrance and inside the first corridor. The others who’d travelled with the group had split off with Negan to God knows where, it seems they hadn’t yet returned. The interior of the building was just as dull and depressing as the outside was. Hard concrete walls and floors all around. It was like a prison, and you were it’s prisoner.

“Get in here.” After walking down numerous corridors Tash Face pushed you through a doorway into a tiny boxed room. It wasn’t a room- it was a bare walled closet. You turned to face him, his hands were on his hips.

“The Doc’s not available at the moment. If you don’t die- and honestly, that’s not a problem if you do- he’ll stitch you up later.” He moved to close the door when you opened your mouth, the dryness of your tongue and lack of water had created a drumming headache in the ride up to the Sanctuary which had failed to subside.

“I can do it.”

The taller man glared at you, his jaw flexing as he stared you down. It was the first time you’d spoken since the woods, you figured he’d became accustomed to the silence.

“You can’t do anything, because if you didn’t notice by now _friend_ , you’re a goddamn mess.” 

“I’m a paramedic- _was_. Before…”

Simon didn’t even blink as he looked at you. He’d wanted you dead in the woods for killing his men at the pharmacy and costing the Saviors time in tracking you down but Negan had the final word. He’d seen potential in you and would rather use you than kill you. Now that you actually claimed to be skilled it only seemed to piss Simon off even more.

“Hey D-” Simon called out to someone in the corridor without breaking his gaze from you. A scraggly headed blonde appeared with a wary look.

“Yeah?” he didn’t even look at you, in fact you think he was doing all he could not to.

“Get me a fresh set from laundry, and a med kit from the infirmary.” 

The younger man shook his head in agreement, his eyes looking away as he spoke. “Uh- do you have the keys?”

Tash Face finally broke his stare from you and snapped at the blonde. “ _Key_.”   
He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and removed just one, taking the other’s hand and slapping it in his palm. 

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re behind on points again. You know the rules Dwight. Fair 'n square like everyone else. You gotta pay for the shit you need. That insulin doesn’t just grow on trees out there like some medical miracle, y'understand?”

Dwight dropped his eyes again and nodded curtly. "Make it snappy, D. Bring it up to the showers." Simon let his hand go as he watched him leave back up the corridor before turning to you.

“Time to get clean shitface.” Simon gestured an arm out in an eccentric manner, ushering you into the corridor. You step out, eyeing him as you do so. You feel his hand on your shoulder as he pushes you forward again.

“Let’s see if you’re still ugly under all that muck, shall we?”

You walked on ahead, making sure to keep moving quick enough so that he didn’t have need to touch you again. Simon told you when to turn down the corridors, each one looked identical to the next, the only potential markers you could see being slightly different scuffs and cracks in the walls. 

You didn’t see a single person in the corridors, and you started to wonder where all the people were just as you rounded the corner and saw Dwight standing by a door, his hands full with what looked like clothes and a small medical kit.

“There’s my guy!” Simon raised his arms as you stopped in front of Dwight. He took the key from the younger man and threw the clothes at you. It was a dirty old pair of pants and a sweater, visible sweat stains marked the underarms. _This is fresh from laundry?_ You chose your better judgement and didn’t react.

“Alright then, this is where I leave you for now. Watch the door will you, D? Don’t need our friend here wandering around base, he could get lost and we wouldn’t want _that_ …”

Simon slapped your shoulders again harshly before striding away from the two of you. The corridor was silent once more as you turned to Dwight.

“Come on.”

He opened the door in front of you and stepped in first, you followed behind as he held the door for you. The room was tiled from floor to ceiling, a handful of basic showers littered the back wall. A line of small window panes ran the width of the room above the showers allowing a little light in. It wasn’t exactly pleasant but you were grateful it was empty.

“It’s cold water only obviously, but it’s clean. There’s a spare towel on the side there, Simon won’t be long so be quick, okay?”

Dwight put the medical kit down on the side and turned to exit the room, stopping before he opened the door he looked back at you.

“I’m sorry they found you.” You didn’t know what to say as his eyes met yours for the first time. Your lips parted to speak but you failed to make a sound as Dwight left you alone in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, I kinda enjoy writing our fave mustachioed minion. Yes this is Dwighty-boy pre-iron incident, tryna work those points for Tina. Still working the rough timeline out into the main TWD storyline so more on this as I go! Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading <3


	3. Chapter 3

|| 5 Days Earlier ||

You sigh as your gaze wanders over the ransacked pharmacy. It’d been a long shot coming out here to the edge of woods, the area was quiet, not many people passed through, but a pharmacy was a pharmacy and it was the end of days.

The shelves were bare, heavy with perfect layers of untouched dust. You walked through the store, looking at each shelf in vain, wishing your journey hadn’t been entirely wasted. There was a back stock room that had long since been broken into, the only remaining items were a handful of used bandages that littered the floor. _Nothing._

Your shoulders ached with the weight of your rucksack, it was practically empty but the lack of sleep was leeching your energy from you, as it did during life on the road. A full flask and a spare sweater, some minimal essentials, what little food you had managed to scavenge the day before from your small game traps was all you carried with you. Well, and your knife. A little over 18 inches long and a fiercely sharp black blade. It sat sheathed at your hip, waiting to be useful.

You exhaled sharply, folding your arms across your chest in the doorway looking back at the store. It was maddeningly quiet. You shrugged your rucksack from your shoulders as you knelt to take a drink from the flask within. The cool water was a blessing in the morning heat. You wiped the back of your hand across your mouth as you pinched the bridge of your nose, your eyes scrunched shut tight.

_What you wouldn’t do for a coffee right about then._

You raised your head gingerly and your eyes caught the skewed board that covered the lower half of the cash desk. You raised a brow, no way life was this good to you.

You unsheathed the blade from your hip and poked the edge of it into the gap between the board and the desk. Sure enough, it fell free. _Holy Shit._

A low whistle sounded from your lips as your eyes scanned the items within. It was a cache. A healthy stock of medical supplies, painkillers, and the like were wrapped up inside a clear plastic bag. Despite being hidden the cache was still covered in a heavy amount of dust, whoever left it here probably wasn’t coming back for it now.

You took the items, unloading them from the plastic wrapping and double checking the dates on the medicine as you took a mental inventory. It was a good find, you were grateful for your keen eyes. You felt a grin spread across your face now that you had medical supplies. You'd run out exactly 9 days before after running into a group of survivors that needed help. You'd obliged them, it was a family. How could you say no? 

_You never can say no. You have before._

You’d almost packed them all away when you heard the sound of a truck pulling up. You froze. The only way out was through the front. You heard footsteps approaching and you retreated back faster than a cat into the stock room and pulled the door to, leaving it slightly ajar so that you could still hear.

“You sure this is the place? Already looks picked clean...” 

“We’re looking for a stash, it’s not gonna be sat on a silver platter out in the open you dumb shit.”

The voices bounced between the bare walls inside the pharmacy, there were two of them, and you’d just taken their booty. 

“Where’d he say it was? In the back?” You heard the footsteps near the door and you braced yourself behind it with the blade steady in your hand.

“Hold up Captain Obvious.” The second voice neared as the man strode towards the cash desk. “There’s a false side to this-” He stopped short, your breath hitched in your throat. 

_Talk about fucking timing._

“What?” The first guy approached the cash desk and stopped. “Fucking typical. Ben’s a sorry dickhead when I get back there, I fucking said it’d been too long. Nearly got my nuts bitten off on the way for nothing, he’ll fuckin’ pay-”

You heard a light punch as a fist connected with a shoulder and the man ceased his cussing. If the door was open you’d imagine you’d be looking directly at the pair of them looking directly back at you. A soft stream of light shone through the crack in the door, turning to shadow momentarily as something blocked the light. _Now._

You pulled the door back just enough to slam it forward into the first guy’s face. He fell back clutching his nose as it streamed with blood, yelling to his friend as he went down.  
The second guy rushed you, you ducked down and kicked him with all you could muster in the small space you had to kick, aiming dead center for his crotch. 

He called out in pain as he fell backwards over the first guy. Your knife itched in your hand but the two were unarmed and you took your chance and jumped over the pair of them, running full pelt for the front door.

You barely had time to dodge as the bullet came flying towards you, missing your head by inches. You crashed hard into the shelving units. Your vision became clouded and you coughed hard against the unsettled dust that had sprung up around you. You looked at the door and saw another two men standing there, guns out and aimed at you.

“What the fuck is going on in here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little rewind for a bit of insight to our dear reader, hope you don’t mind! We’ll get back to the Sanctuary in the next chapter! Was originally intended as one chapter but hey it was getting a bit long and I didn’t want to rush things. Seems the 5 days earlier flashback will be dotted throughout the main story! Hope that’s okay :) (I have exams on atm so if my updates get patchy that's why! Stick with me! More to come!) Thanks for reading! <3


	4. Chapter 4

Droplets of water fell from your bangs and met with the pool of water below where you stood on the tiled floor. Dwight had understated the temperature of the water, it wasn’t just cold, it was freezing. With a lack of heat from the missing steam of the shower the room was a few levels below chilled. Your teeth chattered against themselves, your body shaking involuntarily against the low temperature.

_It’ll help with the healing. The cold’s good like that._

“Best be quick, you don’t have much time-” 

The scraggly headed blonde called through the door and you were pulled back into the reality of where you were. The cold shower while unpleasant at first had become numbing after a moment. All the feeling, memories, fears, and thoughts had settled like still waves after a troubled sea. You hit the faucet off at the wall and the last cold water beads rolled down your back as you turned for the towel.

Your steps were slow and deliberate across the empty room, there was no denying you couldn’t afford to slip on the wet tiles and call out, Dwight running in and seeing more than he bargained for. The towel was cleaner than the clothes you were given, you assumed it wasn’t meant for you but Dwight had told you to use it and use it you damn well would.

A long mirror with a crack on the bottom hung on the wall, your eyes traced over the reflection of your skin, noting every new graze, cut and bruise. For a cold shower with nothing but your hands to clean yourself with you didn’t look as bad as you thought you would, albeit you still felt dirty. You appeared clean, and for now that would do. The priority had been to clean your wounds and that was where your attention focused to next.

You wrapped the towel around your waist, opening the med kit - a small tin Dwight had left you. Inside were tools for stitches, bandages and the like. You caught the sight of a small bottle and held it up to the light, it was rubbing alcohol.

_Perfect._

Uncapping the bottle you poured a generous amount directly onto your wound, gritting your teeth at the small sting you felt. You’d already done the hard part and handled the wound on the road so all you had to do now was clean and dress it. You held some clean gauze against the sensitive area after checking it one last time and deftly wrapped a bandage around your stomach to keep it in place, adding a safety pin to ensure it didn’t move.

Next was your head. The shower had washed the blood away that had crusted down your left temple revealing the curious looking cuts the barbed wire from the baseball bat had left in your skin. They weren’t deep, about 6 or 7 dotted along your eyebrow like some kind of crimson constellation.

You repeated the same process as before, alcohol first, wincing at the pain being slightly stronger than your other wound despite the size difference and then dressed the cuts with a handful of butterfly stitches.

The skin on your temple wasn’t torn much but you weren’t surprised. Head injuries always bled more than others even if they weren’t as detrimental. You ruffled your damp hair down over your forehead in an effort to obscure the mess and not draw any unwanted attention to yourself. Your bangs fell low above your eyes and you managed a smirk at the edge of your lips.

_I need a haircut._

“Hey D! How’s my fave guy doin’?”

You heard Simon’s voice echoing up the corridor outside and instinctively darted for the clothes next to the med kit. You dressed in a matter of seconds, ignoring the pain searing throughout your body objecting the quick movements. You opted to keep your old undergarments in an effort to keep your secret from the Saviors as long as you could. You had just turned to pack up the tin when the door slammed open behind you.

“Well damn, smells like wet dog in here.”

You kept your back to Simon as you packed away the medical supplies in the tin, hearing his footsteps closing in on you from behind.

“Uh...hello _friend_?”

You felt a hard flick on the back of your head and you turned to face him. His dark eyes turned from glowering at you to easing up if only slightly as he took in your face.

You did your best to remain calm but your whole body was tense as you waited for him to say something. You’d fooled others on the road through no conscious effort of your own that you were male. It had been a happy mistake the first time and all the times after it had become a familiar shield.

You were not afraid of men, you’d been surrounded by brilliant men and some not so brilliant ones in your line of work before everything turned to shit. It was more a cautious reflection of the world you now lived in. Rape and abuse happened before, it always had. The only difference now is the frequency of it. With no law to hold such people accountable it was anyone’s game. You knew your strengths and your weaknesses and when necessary you hid yourself in plain sight. It was a dangerous game but one you had had to become accustomed to.

“You tried I’ll give you that kid but you still look like shit.”

“I’ve had worse.” You could have sighed with relief right there but you were already set for the counter. You were safe. For now.

Simon reached behind you, his towering chest nearing a little too close to your face as he grabbed the med kit behind you. A dense scent of of the man’s musk and sweat filled your nostrils as he pulled away and you reminded yourself not to curse at him for invading your personal space. Your voice was pretty low for a female but you knew that if it came to a shouting match your high pitched yelling would definitely give you away.

“You can keep this. You’ll probably need to fix up that mess on your face again, and besides, if you are as medically talented as you say you are we can’t be letting you get an infection and dying now can we?”

He thrust the box into your hands and you took it, your eyes on his.

“What now?” You couldn’t hold your tongue quick enough before the question rolled from your lips. You could see it on Simon’s face, he still hated you. His false kindness was in the name of self preservation for the Sanctuary.  
They didn’t want to look after you, they needed you alive so they could utilize your abilities. You knew you couldn’t trust this man but you didn’t know where the line was just yet. You were useful to them, but would you be tolerated? You could see Simon mulling over similar questions in his head, how far until he wrapped his fingers around your throat again?

“Easy now, you just got here. Big Man’s got a plan for you but that plan doesn’t include you being a smart mouthed little shit. You just hold your own and let us ask the questions, you understand?”

You nodded, earning a bewildered look from Simon as he leant down, a hand cupped to his ear as he spoke. “I’m sorry I didn’t quite catch that?” 

“I understand.”

He turned his head back to you, a grin spread on his face.

“Now you’re getting it. I think maybe you’ll do just fine here. But for now, I got other shit to tend to.”

|| Later ||

You woke with a start as your shoulder hit the ground, little shockwaves of pain rippling through your body where you were injured the most. You blinked your eyes open and for half a second you panicked before realising the pitch black visuals were a product of the room you were in not a lack of sight on your part.

Pushing yourself up from the floor you sat with your back to the wall behind you. Simon had locked you back in the tiny closet and you must have dozed off sometime after. No telling what time it was now. The corridors outside the closet weren’t ones with windows, not that you could see much under the crack of the door.  
Slowly you stood, keeping your hands on the wall behind you to help your balance before stretching up. The cold shower had done some good but you were still incredibly sore, you rolled your head to one side and immediately regretted it, feeling the sharp pain around your throat, there were most definitely bruises. _Simon._

You shook it out gently, just catching the sound of the bolts unlocking on the door as it swung open. You covered your face, squinting as you did against the light of the corridor that seeped into the small closet that had become your tiny sleep space.

You glance through your fingers, your eyes adjusting as you lower your hand to see Negan standing there in his leather jacket, the baseball bat from before slung over his shoulder.

“Quinn, right? How the hell you doin’?”

He didn’t cross the space between the two of you, simply standing in between the doorframe filling up the space entirely with his stature. You didn’t realise how tall he’d stood in the woods, you realised this was the first time you’d stood face to face.

“I’m alright, considering.”

He eyed you, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah about that, we need to have a little talk.”

Negan appeared to be alone but the thought of Simon’s face earlier when you’d turned to face him after cleaning yourself up lit up in your mind and you tensed. You’d thought at the time that that idiot Tash Face was staring at you too long before talking. Had he said something to Negan?

_What was to be said? You were a ‘he’ as far as they were concerned. Calm down._

You forced a nod, waiting for him to continue. He stepped into the space, his height now bearing down on you, the closet felt smaller by the second. He stopped suddenly, eyeing you as his head tilted to one side.

“You’re a little taller than I thought you’d be. Heh, back in the woods you looked like a little dirty animal.” He chuckled to himself, his voice was low but carefree.

“I’m sorry that’s not very courteous of me is it? You’ve cleaned up a fair bit, yeah you’re lookin’ much better-” Negan reached a hand out toward your face but you pulled a way, he raised a brow and held your chin up as the hair parted along your temple revealing the stitches.

“Nice work. You ofcourse, not me- although I hope you understand why I had to do that. The rules here, it’s how it works kiddo. I lost some good guys out there. I don’t like wasting lives given the world’s current state of affairs. It’s not ideal to have few numbers out here so I had to keep you. See I want you to understand, not everyone gets a chance like that here.”

Your eyes never left his as he spoke, his fingers left your face, they were gentle but commanding against your skin, you hoped he wasn’t going to check all your wounds, he’d find more than just bruises and cuts.

“So. Cards on the table. I already have a doctor in here and it seems mighty superfluous having two able bodied medical personnel such as yourselves sitting on your asses. I’d very much like you in the field. If you think you’re up to it?”

_If you trust me enough to come back._

“What’s stopping me from running the second I get out there?” Your question was honest, surely Negan didn’t trust you so easily. You hadn’t took him for a fool. 

“Oh you’re not goin’ alone. You’ll be a part of the Saviors. We look out for each other here, yeah we keep our friends real _close_.”

The Saviors. Negan had given you the speech in the woods. He claimed to save people, make them stronger than they were before, give them food, a home, a purpose. You had yet to see any of this at the Sanctuary but whatever Negan was selling to the people that lived here, he himself had bought into it completely.

“Either way I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the facts, I’m sensing you’re a smart one but I’ll let you have this just one more time.”

Negan leaned in close to you, his salt and pepper beard close enough to touch as he licked his lower lip. “I own you. You belong to me now, so do your skills and this-”

Your eyes stole away from his face as he removed a knife from the back of his belt. The black blade, serrated edge and green handle were unmistakable. It was your knife.

“Bet you didn’t think you’d see this again did you? Yeah we found it when we cleaned up the mess you made after the pharmacy. I knew it was yours, no one around here’s packing like this.”

He waved the knife in front of your face, his dark eyes lit up gleefully. You’d had to abandon your belongings when more Saviors had arrived after the pharmacy and you’d regretting leaving your knife behind but knew it couldn’t be helped. You’d chose to flee.

“Now see, here’s the other thing I wanted to _discuss_ with you. This is a fine military blade, you don’t see anything like this just lying on the road nowadays. I’ve already complimented you for being smart so don’t insult me now and lie, where did you get it?”

“It belonged to a soldier I knew before-”

“Well, no shit. How’d you come by it?”

_I earned it._

Negan had a keen eye and you cursed your stars. Your knife wasn’t lost to you but it was causing problems, prompting questions you knew you wouldn’t answer.

“It was given to me.”

“By the soldier no doubt? You know ‘em well?”

Your eyes fell from his to the knife, you hadn’t lied to him so far. You nodded your head in response. He tilted his head as he looked you over, the knife now resting in his palm by his side.

“They didn’t make it?”

You closed your eyes, a frown creasing your brow. You don’t know why he was asking you all of this, or rather why his questions were causing a stab of pain to swell within your chest. You’d been asked about your past before but you’d always swerved it. It’s not like it was a big secret you just chose to keep the past in the past. What few survivors you’d met on the road always asked questions but you’d always made up some story, they never seemed to care enough to question it but this, this was different.

“Shit. Look- I had to ask. Hell knows we’ve all seen some shit and we don’t need to relive it.”

You heard him sheathe the knife back onto his belt and you looked up at him.

“You good?”

You were surprised by the candor in his question. What shit had he seen that he didn’t want to relive that allowed him to sympathize with you? 

“...Yeah.”

His dark eyes that had softened momentarily shone again as his bright white grin spread across his face. His personality was so interchangeable you were finding it difficult to read the real Negan.

“Alright. So, back to the plan- we’re gonna get you some things to make you a bit more comfortable, give you a taste of life here. I would put you up in a room with a bed but you did kill four of my guys so I gotta know that you’re one hundred percent on board before we start having sleepovers and braiding each other’s hair.”

Negan stepped back from you, his tongue running across his teeth as he spoke.

“Yeah, this is gonna be fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what kind of length chapters you enjoy reading please! I always write way more than I post I just try to cut it down to keep the chapter focused but it always feels a little short when I post, so here's a long chapter for you today!
> 
> There's a lot less cussing from Negan in this one as he's calmed down a bit from that first chapter and I realised how hard it is to get his spoken voice across in writing. A lot of what JDM does on screen is with intonation and it's a little hard to convey that with writing haha! Anyway, I did my best so I hope you enjoy! Quinn still has a lot up her sleeve besides the simple fact that she's a girl, stay tuned for more! Thanks for reading <3


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